Farmed Fish Fed Contaminated Material - Pet food recall

[Amelia]

Farmed Fish Fed Contaminated Material

By ANDREW BRIDGES

Associated Press Writer

8 May, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Farmed fish were fed meal spiked with an industrial chemical linked to the ongoing recall of pet foods, though the contamination level was probably too low to pose a danger to anyone who may have eaten the fish, federal health officials said Tuesday.

The Canadian-made meal included what was purported to be wheat gluten, a protein source, imported from China. The material was actually wheat flour spiked by the chemical melamine and related, nitrogen-rich compounds to make it appear more protein rich than it was, officials said.

After pigs and chickens, the farmed fish mark the third food animal given contaminated feed. The level of contamination is expected to be too low to pose any danger to human health, said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's assistant commissioner for food protection.

It wasn't immediately clear if any of the farmed fish entered the food supply. However, Acheson said at least one firm's fish were still too young and small to be sold. Investigators were visiting other U.S. aquaculture farms that used the contaminated feed.

Melamine, a chemical found in plastics and pesticides and not approved for use in pet or human in the U.S., contaminated pet food that either sickened or killed an unknown number of dogs and cats. Since March 16, more than 100 brands of pet food have been recalled because they were contaminated with melamine.

Acheson said that fish samples would be screened for signs of melamine. "Depending upon what we find in that testing, that is going to drive the next steps," Acheson said.

Canadian officials are aware of the finding, Acheson said.

"We used it to make pet food. They used it to make fish meal," he told reporters.

Federal health and food officials have said some 20 million chickens and thousands of hogs also were fed feed contaminated by melamine. As with the fish, they said the risk to human health is very low.

U.S. investigators also have learned that the purported Chinese wheat gluten and a second ingredient, rice protein concentrate, were actually simple wheat flour. The flour was spiked with melamine and related, nitrogen-rich compounds to make it appear more protein rich than it was. In tests, nitrogen levels are measured to gauge the overall protein content of food ingredients.

"What we discovered is these are not wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate but in fact are wheat flour contaminated by melamine," Acheson said.

The FDA is considering enforcement options, he added. The ingredients came from two Chinese firms: Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co. and Futian Biology Technology Co. Ltd.

[Gail]

Wow- do the Chinese give that to their own people?

We have had customers asking us if the wheat gluten we carry is related to the Chinese one. I told her no, but that ours is Canadian made from Alberta.

[Amelia]

Well this isnt the first time that a Chinese imported item has been bogus but got into the food chain. It's been happening with medications too.

Yes, I've been asked while working in the stores about wheat gluten. These past few weeks I have been doing lots of work on the cat and dog foods. It hasn't been fun because customers will take their frustration out on anyone working the product. But some of the new replacement foods are "real" meats foods. There is even an animal grade tuna for cats and just this week I have been stocking fish fillets for cats and ground sirloin for dogs.

[David Koot]

Well, hey, that is just ONE of the MANY advantages of being vegetarian!! We don't have to worry about such things. And here in the North Bay, we are very conscientious about non-GMO, and certified organic, all that good stuff. It makes a difference! Try it, you'll like it! (smiles)

Dave

[Dr. Shane]

The problem with farmed fish is they pack too many of them into too small of an area. The safest fish is normally ocean fish since most contaminated fish come from fresh water lakes and rivers that are polluted. Eating 6 ounces of fish each week has been shown to provide more benefits to health than harm.

[David Koot]

Hey, ocean fish have problems too. And any nutritients which come from fish can be gotten from non-animal sources, without the harmful features of flesh foods.

Dave

[Dr. Shane]

This was being discussed by a panel of Adventist doctors on a program I was watching on Hope Channel and they pretty much agreed that eating fish once a week provides more good than harm to a healthful diet.

I certainly respect those vegetarians that decide to avoid all flesh foods, including fish, but it certainly does not fall into the same category as poultry or beef. One could argue that it is more healthful than cheese and eggs.

Let's remember, the problem we are talking about here is WHEAT gluten. Not too long ago people were dying from eating bad spinach. So no food is really worry free unless we grow it in our own gardens. Certainly organic foods have a better probability of being safe but the process of certifying a food organic is not refined yet either.

[David Koot]

Yeah, I lost my taste for both cheese and eggs--and milk. And I feel a whole lot better!

[Amelia]

Quote:

the problem we are talking about here is WHEAT gluten.

The problem is fake wheat gluten.

[Dr. Shane]

The problem with the spinach wasn't actually the spinach either; it was e. coli.

[Amelia]

The spinach was caused through accidental sanitary missmanagement. The fake wheat gluten was done purposely.

[Bravus]

Let's try to avoid 'guilt by association'. If there are problems with fish, gluten and spinach themselves, that's one thing, if they are adulterated in various ways that's another. Incidentally excessive use of gluten as a meat substitute by Adventists (good gluten, not the poisoned stuff) is unhealthy in itself...

Gotta admit, I am thinking seriously about going vegetarian/vegan, not so much for personal health (although that would be a nice side effect) but for social/environmental reasons, sharing the world's food resources more fairly with those who don't have enough.

[Amelia]

No, read the article. It states that the wheat gluten was actually wheat flour with the melamine added to get a false high protein reading. It wasnt wheat gluten at all.

[Bravus]

Ah, then even more so what I said.

[Dr. Shane]

The point is that when we go into a super market to buy something, even if we choose a wheat product or a vegetable, we run the risk of consuming something that is not healthy.

There are several environmental reasons for becoming vegetarian. However, even from that perspective, eating fish harms the environment less that poultry, beef or dairy. There are some areas that are over-fished so regulation on the fishing industry is needed. However most fish feed off from parts of the earth that humans do not. Fishing does not cause deforestation. Unlike cow and poultry manure, fish do not contaminate lakes, streams or the ground water.

Fish farms need increased regulation as they are troublesome in many ways. I think they can be environmentally friendly, but a lot of changes need to happen to make them that way. Of course these changes would increase the cost of fish... but not as much as banning fish farms altogether.